Land Problems and National Welfare 



many districts on the continent ; one small 

 farmer in Denmark carries 50 cows on his 50 

 acres, and I believe the highest ratio of all 

 is to be found in our own island of Jersey. 

 The reason why these farms can carry so large 

 a head of cows is that the farmers put their 

 trust in arable land, and not in grass land, for 

 providing the food for their cattle. This con- 

 stitutes one of the great differences between 

 the English and the foreign farmer: the former 

 considers grass land the chief source of food- 

 stuff for his cows, and to a great extent for his 

 beasts as well ; the latter looks to his arable 

 land to give his cows and stock home-grown 

 food of every kind. 



Grass land is not an economical source of 

 food supply, except in certain favoured districts. 

 I have seen it estimated that in Holland and 

 Belgium farmers produce four and five times as 

 much food per acre for their cattle as we do in 

 England, that is, comparing the yields of the 

 heavy fodder, root and straw crops with our 

 average yield of grass, hay, roots and straw. 

 The chief advantage is gained in their use of the 

 fodder crops. 



Nothing can be more deplorable than the 

 way in which the grass land is neglected in 

 many districts in England, and almost as a 

 general rule the land laid down to grass during 

 the last 40 years has been so poorly sown, and 



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